NASCAR Driver Tony Stewart Returning to Racing After Kevin Ward Jr.'s Death: 'This Will Affect My Life Forever'

NASCAR driver Tony Stewart leads a press conference prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Oral-B USA 500 held at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on Friday (August 29) in Hampton, Georgia.

The 43-year-old racer will be returning to the race track for the first time since striking and killing sprint car racer Kevin Ward Jr. earlier in the month.

“This has been one of the toughest tragedies that I’ve ever had to deal with… both professional and personally, and this is something that will definitely affect my life forever,” Tony said. “This is a sadness and a pain I hope no one has to experience in their life. That being said, I know that the pain and the mourning that Kevin Ward’s family and his friends are experiencing, is something I can’t possibly imagine.”

“I’ve taken the last couple of weeks off out of respect for Kevin and his family and to cope with the accident my own way. It’s given me the time to think about life and how easy it is to take it for granted,” Tony added. “I miss my team, my teammates, and I miss being back in the race car. And I think being back in the car this week with my racing family will help me get through this difficult time.”